A new member seeking an advice, plz..

[Lolipop]

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Hello there

I'd really appreciate any advice on my situation..

well, I'm a 24 years old undergraduate Radiation Therapy student. I'm thinking about applying to a Medical school in Australia after graduating, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough, or it'll be just a waste of time and life.

I have a diploma in Diagnostic Radiology from my home country. and my GPA is 3.21.

I worked in a hospital for a year as an x-ray tech before receiving a full scholarship to the U.S. to continue my bachelore degree. Unfortunately, things haven't turn quite well in the U.S. since my diploma wasn't accepted, and non of my credits were transferrd.. I had to start all over again

So after a year in the U.S I decided to go back home again and transfer the scholarship to Australia, where I'd graduate in much shorter time.
For this reason, I wasn't taking school seriously and my GPA was 2.90.

Now, I still have like a year and a half to graduate as a Radiation Therapist, and I'm donig well so far, but form time to time I have this crazy idea about going to Med school and later becoming a Radiation Oncologist.

THE THING IS.. I have a really weak background in chemistry and physics .. and I don't know if I'd have to re-take them again?
..and my anatomy and biology grades aren't great also

I'm not sure if I would pass that GAMSAT or MCAT !
... besides, my English is poor i know



Do I have a chance ?


thanx 4 reading all of that! wow!

 

[tripledogdare]

hi lolipop

i'm assuming this means you want to apply to postgrad med schools in australia, not undergradutate med schools in australia. so i'll try to focus on australian postgrad med schools here.

i suppose you have "a" chance but it's hard to tell how much of a chance this is because your bachelor's degree isn't complete. if so far you have between a 2.9 to 3.21, it's on the low end. definitely try to get it higher if you can.

it's okay if you don't have a background in these sciences as the only requirement is that you have a bachelor's degree. it can be in anything. but practically speaking it'd be a REALLY good idea to have at least some grounding in bio, chemistry, etc. because a lot of lecturers assume the background. and a lot of your classmates will already have the background. it's not essential but it's strongly encouraged. otherwise you'll probably have to work harder than others espically at the beginning.

also for postgrad med schools here in australia you'll have to take the gamsat (or mcat which many accept). sorry, i dont know any other way around it. you'll have to do well too. and if i understand correctly, although others please correct me if i'm wrong, the gamsat is at least 50% english/grammar/reading comprehension/logic/etc. so if your english isn't great then i'd suggest improving it as much as you can.

in other words, australian med schools may not be as competitive as us med schools to get into (although that's debatable!), but they aren't exactly easy to get into by any means! so you have to do pretty well re: grades/marks + gamsat/mcat scores to get in. how well depends on which uni you're interested in applying to. but others can weigh in better than i can.

and if you want to be a rad oncologist, that's a difficult speciality to get into in australia. so if that's really your goal, you'll have to work very hard for it. it's best to start now.

at least from what i understand your background as a rad tech won't help as far as admissions, but it'll help once you're in since you'll have some understanding of how life in med works.

by the way why don't you apply to a med school in your home country? (especially if english is difficult for you?)

 

[Excanuk]

hi lolipop

i'm assuming this means you want to apply to postgrad med schools in australia, not undergradutate med schools in australia. so i'll focus mainly on australian postgrad med school.

i suppose you have "a" chance but it's hard to tell how much of a chance this is because your bachelor's degree isn't complete. if so far you have between a 2.9 to 3.21, it's on the low end. definitely try to get it higher if you can.

it's okay if you don't have a background in these sciences as the only requirement is that you have a bachelor's degree. it can be anything. but practically speaking it'd be a really good idea to have at least some grounding in chemistry, etc. because a lot of lecturers assume the background, or at least that's what i've heard at postgrad med schools.

also for postgrad med schools here in australia you'll have to take the gamsat (or mcat which many accept). sorry, i dont know any other way around it. you'll have to do pretty well too.

in other words, australian med schools may not be as competitive as us med schools to get into (although that's debatable!), but they aren't exactly easy to get into by any means! so you have to do pretty well re: grades/marks + gamsat/mcat scores to get in. how well depends on which uni you're interested in applying to. but others can weigh in better than i can.

and if you want to be a rad oncologist, that's a difficult speciality to get into in australia. so if that's really your goal, you'll have to work very hard for it. it's best to start now.

at least from what i understand your background as a rad tech won't help as far as admissions, but it'll help once you're in since you'll have some understanding of how life in med works.

by the way why don't you apply to a med school in your home country?

Rad Onc isn't too bad, it might be tough at RPA but you can certainly get into it in the smaller hospitals around the country. It is however getting more popular as a lot of people who can't get into Rads (which is tough) are going into Rad Onc.

 

[shan564]

If you don't do well on the GAMSAT/MCAT, you'll have a lot of difficulty getting into an Australian school. The only way would be if you do really well on the interview, which is unlikely if you don't speak good English.

 

[Lolipop]

hi lolipop

i'm assuming this means you want to apply to postgrad med schools in australia, not undergradutate med schools in australia. so i'll try to focus on australian postgrad med schools here.

i suppose you have "a" chance but it's hard to tell how much of a chance this is because your bachelor's degree isn't complete. if so far you have between a 2.9 to 3.21, it's on the low end. definitely try to get it higher if you can.

it's okay if you don't have a background in these sciences as the only requirement is that you have a bachelor's degree. it can be in anything. but practically speaking it'd be a REALLY good idea to have at least some grounding in bio, chemistry, etc. because a lot of lecturers assume the background. and a lot of your classmates will already have the background. it's not essential but it's strongly encouraged. otherwise you'll probably have to work harder than others espically at the beginning.

also for postgrad med schools here in australia you'll have to take the gamsat (or mcat which many accept). sorry, i dont know any other way around it. you'll have to do well too. and if i understand correctly, although others please correct me if i'm wrong, the gamsat is at least 50% english/grammar/reading comprehension/logic/etc. so if your english isn't great then i'd suggest improving it as much as you can.

in other words, australian med schools may not be as competitive as us med schools to get into (although that's debatable!), but they aren't exactly easy to get into by any means! so you have to do pretty well re: grades/marks + gamsat/mcat scores to get in. how well depends on which uni you're interested in applying to. but others can weigh in better than i can.

and if you want to be a rad oncologist, that's a difficult speciality to get into australia. so if that's really your goal, you'll have to work very hard for it. it's best to start now.

at least from what i understand your background as a rad tech won't help as far as admissions, but it'll help once you're in since you'll have some understanding of how life in med works.

by the way why don't you apply to a med school in your home country? (especially if english is difficult for you?)

Thank you sooo much 4 your replay
yep, I meant graduate entry Med school.
So you mean there are no prequesits I need to take before applying, right?
That's cool . Then I'll only need 2 work on my GPA and GAMSAT
..I just started the program on March and i'll do my best, but is it possible 4 someone with a very little background in basic sciences to do well on MCAT or GAMSAT

I'm a scholarship recipient, it means that I have the option to choose between the U.S and Canda, U.K, Australia, and some non-English spoken countries. and I've chosen Australia cuz I've been in the U.S and I know how hard it is to get into the medical field, especially for an international student.
However, I cannot transfer my scholarship to my country bcuz the internal scholarship programs are now closed... besides, Medicine is taught in English there lol

But thank u very much 4 those useful information

 

[Lolipop]

Rad Onc isn't too bad, it might be tough at RPA but you can certainly get into it in the smaller hospitals around the country. It is however getting more popular as a lot of people who can't get into Rads (which is tough) are going into Rad Onc.

thank you so much

 

[Lolipop]

If you don't do well on the GAMSAT/MCAT, you'll have a lot of difficulty getting into an Australian school. The only way would be if you do really well on the interview, which is unlikely if you don't speak good English.

that's some of my major concerns
I guess I can speak well most of the time, but when I'm nervous I lose the words